http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/ncm/index.php/2005/11/15/lying-in-road-deaths/
I recalled it as “sleeping” when the reality of these tragic human possums is more akin to “passed out.”
“Human possums” indeed! Thanks for the link. This seems to come under the heading of what my husband and I call “Things You Never Thought of Before.”
I once worked for the City of Arlington, TX and had occasion to look back through their archives. One tidbit I ran across was that the two main causes of death for the year 1918 were the great flu (no surprise there), and being hit by a train. I never did figure out the train part. My surmise was that since roads were not very prevalent and not very good when they were there, people did a lot of walking on the convenient train tracks.